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ZERO Drives Fuel Cell Cars from Oslo to Monte Carlo

30 Apr 2012

The Zero Emissions Resource Organisation (ZERO) based in Oslo, Norway has driven two Hyundai iX35 fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) from Oslo to Monte Carlo, using only existing hydrogen filling stations for refuelling. The vehicles travelled from Gaustad in Oslo, via Denmark, Hamburg, Cologne, Karlsruhe and Freiburg in Germany and Sassenage in France, before arriving in Monte Carlo. In what could be a record setting distance the vehicles covered 2,260 km in the five days en-route to Monte Carlo with no support vehicles or mobile refuellers.

Marius Bornstein, technical adviser on hydrogen at ZERO said “This has never been done before, and why did we do it? To show that it is possible to drive emission free from Oslo and throughout Europe” The Hyundai iX35 was chosen for its range, being able to cover 500 km on a tank of hydrogen.

The creation of a hydrogen infrastructure is seen as one of the challenges to commercial introduction of FCEV and the lack of global hydrogen refuelling was highlighted during Daimler’s 2011 World Drive. Its round-the-world trip traversed four continents, but only refuelled its vehicles twice at existing hydrogen stations, the majority of refuelling being carried out using a mobile filling station.

The ZERO demonstration passed through Freiburg, Germany which has a solar hydrogen station and Bornstein added. “When the cars go on pure solar energy, it is hardly possible to imagine a more environmentally friendly way to travel.”